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August 16, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kulanui o Hawaii Nei

Kulanui (Lit., big school) – University, College; Kulanui o Hawaii Nei … University of Hawai‘i.

“An act to establish the College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts of the Territory of Hawai‘i” was passed by the Hawai‘i’s Territorial Legislature and was signed into law by Governor George Carter on March 25th, 1907.

It began as a land-grant college, initiated out of the 1862 US Federal Morrill Act funding for “land grant” colleges. The Morrill Act funded educational institutions by granting federally-controlled land to the states for them to develop or sell to raise funds to establish and endow “land-grant” colleges.

Regular classes began in September 1908 with ten students (five freshmen, five preparatory students) and thirteen faculty members at a temporary Young Street facility in the William Maertens’ house near Thomas Square.

The regents chose the present campus location in lower Mānoa on June 19, 1907. In 1911, the name of the school was changed to the “College of Hawaiʻi.”

In 1912, the college moved to the present Mānoa location (the first permanent building is known today as Hawaiʻi Hall.) The first Commencement was June 3, 1912.

With the addition of the College of Arts and Sciences in 1920, the school became known as the University of Hawaiʻi. The Territorial Normal and Training School (now the College of Education) joined the University in 1931.

The University continued to grow throughout the 1930s. The Oriental Institute, predecessor of the East-West Center, was founded in 1935, bolstering the University’s mounting prominence in Asia-Pacific studies.

UH Mānoa’s School of Law opened in temporary buildings in 1973. The Center for Hawaiian Studies was established in 1977 followed by the School of Architecture in 1980.

The School of Ocean and Earth Sciences and Technology was founded eight years later and in 2005 the John A Burns School of Medicine moved to its present location in Honolulu’s Kakaʻako district.

In the 1950s, after three years of offering UH Extension Division courses at the old Hilo Boarding School, the University of Hawai‘i, Hilo Branch, was approved; the UH Community Colleges system was established in 1964.

Today, the University of Hawai‘i System includes 3 universities (Mānoa, Hilo and West Oʻahu,) 7 community colleges (Kauaʻi, Leeward, Honolulu, Kapiʻolani, Windward, Maui and Hawaiʻi) and community-based learning centers across Hawai‘i.

But this isn’t about that University of Hawai‘i, this is about the first University of Hawai‘i Nei. It was on Maui …

“At the general meeting of the missionaries at Honolulu in June, 1831, the following resolutions were adopted.”

“Resolved, That we consider the education of the natives of these islands generally, and the preparation of some of them in particular for becoming teachers of religion, as holding a place of great importance in our missionary labors.”

“Resolved, That, though we consider the present situation of this people as requiring all our efforts in the way heretofore directed; yet we believe this subject of sufficient importance to demand the exclusive time, attention, and labors of one of our number.”

“Resolved, That, relying on the strength of the Great Head of the Church, we agree to establish a High School, for the purposes above mentioned, and on a plan hereafter to be submitted.”

“Resolved, That the school go into operation as soon as suitable accommodations for the principal and scholars shall be ready; and that we show a plan of the school to the chiefs, and invite them to co-operate with us.”

At that meeting, it was also unanimously resolved to establish a Seminary for raising up teachers and other helpers in the missionary work. The design of the Seminary is more fully expressed in the laws to he as follows:

  1. To aid the mission in accomplishing the great work for which they were sent hither; that is, to introduce and perpetuate the religion of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, with all its accompanying blessings, civil, literary and religious.
  2. As a means of accomplishing this great end, it is the design of the Seminary to disseminate sound knowledge throughout the Islands, embracing general literature and the sciences, and whatever may tend to elevate the whole mass oi! the people from their present ignorance and degradation, and cause them to become a thinking, enlightened and virtuous people.
  3. A more definite object of the Seminary is to train up and qualify good school teachers for their respective duties, to teach them theoretically and practically the best method of communicating instruction to others; together with a knowledge of the arts, usages and habits of civilized life, with all their train of social blessings.
  4. Another object still more definite and of equal or greater importance is to educate as soon as practicable young men of piety and promising talents and fit them to become preachers of the gospel, to be fellow laborers with us in disseminating the pure religion of Jesus among their dying fellow men. (Dibble)

“Mr. Green, Mr. Richards and Mr. Tinker had gained some proficiency in the Hawaiian language, and were teaching the Hawaiians about the good things they should do in leading their lives. They were teaching in the Hawaiian language, and they got together to discuss the making of a school for the islands, where they could quickly instruct the students. These discussions had been going on for some years, as at their assemblies.”

“They determined that it would be best to build a large school in these islands, and that certain ones of their number would be chosen to teach the students about the right way of living, in both body and spirit. They were taken of the thought that they should build a large school at which they could teach selected people, and prepare them to do this good work throughout the islands. That the students would be the ones to go out and teach other Hawaiians about those things which were good for them.”

“Therefore, they chose the Island of Maui, the site called by the name of auwai o Auwaiawao (the water way-ditch of Auwaiawao), as the place to build the school, and that Andrews would be the teacher there. Andrews began the school. Afterwards each of those who had attended the conference, began to send their students to enter into the school.” (Ka Nonanona, Ianuali 30, 1839; Maly translator)

“Soon after the General Meeting, Mr. Andrews accompanied by his former associate Mr. Richards, commenced the examination of several sites in the neighborhood of Lahaina for the location of the school. They at length fixed upon the present spot, which has since been named by the scholars Lahainaluna or Upper Lahaina.” (Dibble)

On September 5, 1831, classes at the Mission Seminary at Lahainaluna (later known as Lahainaluna) began in thatched huts with 25 Hawaiian young men.

When Lahainaluna Seminary first opened, Lāhainā was the capital of the kingdom of Hawaiʻi, and it was a bustling seaport for the Pacific whaling fleet.

“By the assistance of Messrs. (Sheldon) Dibble, (Ephraim) Clark, (John) Emerson, and others, Lahainaluna has become the ‘University’ of Hawaii nei.” (Missionary Herald)

Lahainaluna Seminary was the first Kulanui of Hawai‘i Nei (University of Hawai‘i).

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  • The Mission Seminary at Lahainaluna on Maui in the 1830s
  • P-15 Lahainaluna
  • Sheldon_Dibble_House_at_Lahainaluna,_engraved_by_Kalama
  • Rainbow_over_Lahainaluna
  • lahainaluna-L
  • Lahainaluna_seminary_workshop,_mechanical_printing_press_and_movable_type_in_type_case_in_background,_ca._1895
  • Lahainaluna Hale Pa’i (Printing Shop)-LOC-058643pv
  • Lahainaluna L-lazarohike

Filed Under: Schools Tagged With: Hawaii, Lahainaluna, University of Hawaii, Kulanui o Hawaii Nei

August 3, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

John Papa ʻĪʻī

John Papa ʻĪʻī, one of the leading citizens of the Hawaiian kingdom during the nineteenth century, was born at Waipi‘o, Oahu, on August 3, 1800.

At the age of ten John was brought to Honolulu and became an attendant of Kamehameha I and later became a companion and personal attendant to Liholiho (later King Kamehameha II.)

Upon the arrival of the missionaries in Hawai‘i in 1820, John ʻĪʻī was among the first Hawaiians to study reading and writing with the missionaries, studying under the Reverend Hiram Bingham.

As time passed, John ʻĪʻī divided his time between the ruling Kamehamehas and the missionaries, particularly Reverend Bingham.  John soon became an assistant to Bingham and a teacher at the latter’s school.

Ultimately, John ʻĪʻī served Kamehameha I, II, III and IV.  He also was selected to be kahu of the students (effectively a vice principal) at the Chiefs’ Children’s School in 1840 (effectively serving the next generations of the Kamehameha dynasty.)

By 1841, John ʻĪʻī was general superintendent of O‘ahu schools and was an influential member of the court of Kamehameha III.

In 1842, he was appointed by the king to be a member of the new Treasury Board.  This Board was empowered to set up a system of regular and systematic account keeping.

In 1845, as a member of the Privy Council, he was appointed with four other men to the Board of Land Commissioners.

In 1852, as a member of the House of Nobles, he was selected to represent that body in drafting the Constitution of 1852.

John ʻĪʻī’s service in the House of Nobles was from 1841 to 1854 and from 1858 to 1868.  He served as a member of the House of Representatives during the session of 1855.

He lived in an old fashioned cottage where the Judiciary building now stands.  His home was named “Mililani,” which means exalted or lifted heavenward.

In addition to his duties in the two legislative houses of the kingdom and his service on various governmental commissions, John ʻĪʻī served as a Superior Court judge, as well as on the Supreme Court.

His lifetime spanned many years of the Kamehameha Dynasty, beginning with the autocratic rule of Kamehameha I, extending through the transition period of rule by king and chiefs and continuing into the rule by constitutional monarchy.

He was raised under the kapu system and his life ended with him in service of the Christian ministry.

Mary A. Richards in her “Chiefs’ Childrens’ School” says, “Through the perspective of a century, John ʻĪʻī stands as one of the most remarkable Hawaiians of his time.”

The Reverend Richard Armstrong had this to say about him, “John ʻĪʻī, a man of high intelligence, sterling integrity and great moral worth.”

At nearly seventy years of age, after a life devoted to the furtherance and development of Christianity in Hawai‘i and the development of a democratic form of government, John ʻĪʻī died in May 1870.

With rare insight into the workings of the monarchy as well as the common people, ʻĪʻī  did just that, contributing regularly to the Hawaiian language publication Ka Nupepa Ku‘oko‘a from 1866 until his death in 1870.

The articles – first-hand accounts of life under the Kamehameha dynasty and detailed descriptions and observations on cultural practices, events, social interactions and other topics – were collected and translated by Mary Kawena Pukui and Dorothy Barrere in the 1959 publication “Fragments of Hawaiian History,” a standard resource for historians and students.  (I have a copy and often refer to this book for information.)

Here’s a link to a YouTube video of a Mission Houses Oʻahu Cemetery Theatre portrayal of John Papa I’i (1800-1870) (portrayed by William Hao:)

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John_Papa_Ii_WC
John_Papa_Ii_WC

Filed Under: Prominent People Tagged With: Chief's Children's School, Oahu Cemetery, John Papa Ii, Hawaii, Kamehameha, Privy Council, Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives, Lahainaluna

May 17, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Hawaiian Money

Ancient Hawaiians did not use money. They provided for themselves or simply traded for the things they needed.

As commerce came to Hawai‘i, initial transactions included trading – sandalwood became the primary medium of exchange for Ali‘i, who traded it for western goods.

The adoption of a Western style economy created a demand for money. At first, this money consisted of coins carried in from the variety of countries having interest in the islands.

Coins

This source proved unreliable and coins were in chronically-short supply.

King Kamehameha III set out to rectify the shortage of coinage and currency by including a provision for a Hawaiian monetary system in his new legal code of 1846.

This system provided for a unit known as the dala, which was based on the American dollar. The dala was divided into 100 keneta (cents.)

Several denominations of fractional silver coins were included in this system, as well as a copper piece to be valued at one keneta.

As prescribed by law, these copper pieces bore on their obverse a facing portrait of Kamehameha III with his name and title Ka Moi (the King).

Hawaii’s first coins were issued in 1847. They were copper cents bearing the portrait of King Kamehameha III. The coins proved to be unpopular due to the poor quality image of the king.

Although it is claimed the denomination was misspelled (hapa haneri instead of hapa haneli), the spelling “Hapa Haneri” was included until the end the 19th century.

The spelling “Haneri” (Hawaiian for “Hundred”) appears on all $100 and $500 Hawaiian bank notes in circulation between 1879 and 1900.

In 1883, silver coins were issued in denominations of one dime (umi keneta), quarter dollar (hapaha), half dollar (hapalua) and one dollar (akahi dala).

The vast majority of these coins were struck to the same specifications as current US coins by the San Francisco Mint.

Hawaiian coins continued to circulate for several years after the 1898 annexation to the United States.

In 1903, an act of Congress demonetized Hawaiian coins, and most were withdrawn and melted, with a sizable percentage of surviving examples made into jewelry.

Paper Money

As early as 1836, with coins in shortage, private Hawaiian firms began to issue paper scrip of their own redeemable by the issuing company in coins or goods.

At Kōloa Sugar Plantation, script was issued in payment for services and redeemable at the plantation store; it started with simply a notation of denomination and signature of the owner on cardboard.

However, due to counterfeiting, in 1839, script was printed from engraved plates, with intricate waved and networked lines.

This more formal Kōloa Plantation script became the first paper money from Hawai‘i. Not only was this script accepted at the Plantation store, it became widely accepted by other merchants on the island.

In early 1843, apparently, the Lahainaluna Mission Seminary first issued its own paper money.

The Hawaiian government occasionally issued its own banknotes between 1847 and 1898 in denominations of $10, $20, $50 and $100 Hawaiian Dollars.

However, these notes were only issued in small numbers and US notes made up the bulk of circulating paper money.

In 1895, the newly formed Republic of Hawai‘i issued both gold and silver coin deposit certificates for $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100. These were the last Hawaiian notes issued.

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HwiP.UNL1Dollar183344ScripRevLorrinAndrews
HwiP.UNL1Dollar183344ScripRevLorrinAndrews
Hawaii_Banknote_5_Dollars_c_1839
Hawaii_Banknote_5_Dollars_c_1839
Hawaii_1883_dime
Hawaii_1883_dime
Hawaiian_1891_dollar_coin
Hawaiian_1891_dollar_coin
Kingdom_of_Hawaii-Kalakaua_1883-Dime
Kingdom_of_Hawaii-Kalakaua_1883-Dime
Kingdom_of_Hawaii_Kalakaua_1883-Dime
Kingdom_of_Hawaii_Kalakaua_1883-Dime
Hawaiian_Islands_Banknote_500_Dollars-1872-1891, reign of King David Kalākaua.
Hawaiian_Islands_Banknote_500_Dollars-1872-1891, reign of King David Kalākaua.
Hawaiian_Islands_20_Dollar_Banknote
Hawaiian_Islands_10_dollar_banknote-1860-1880
Hawaiian_Islands_10_dollar_banknote-1860-1880
Republic_of_Hawaii_1895_5_silver_dollars_banknote
Republic_of_Hawaii_1895_5_silver_dollars_banknote
Republic_of_Hawaii_20_Gold_Dollar_banknote_1895
Republic_of_Hawaii_20_Gold_Dollar_banknote_1895

Filed Under: General, Economy Tagged With: Hawaii, Lahainaluna, Koloa, Money

May 6, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Head, Heart & Hand

Click HERE for more information on Head, Heart & Hand.

In the early years, after the arrival of the first American Protestant missionaries, the Hawaiian language came to be the universal mode of education.

Common schools (where the 3 Rs were taught) sprang up in villages all over the islands. In these common schools, classes and attendance were quite irregular, but nevertheless basic reading and writing skills (in Hawaiian) and fundamental Christian doctrine were taught to large numbers of people. (Canevali)

It soon was apparent to the missionaries that the future of the Congregational Mission in Hawaii would be largely dependent upon the success of its schools.

Recognizing there were a limited number of missionaries to teach the chiefs and maka‘āinana (common people), the missionaries effectively set up a school in Lāhainā to teach teachers.

With the main facility at Lahainaluna, the Mission then established “feeder schools” that would transmit to their students’ fundamental reading, writing, and arithmetic skills, and religious training, before admission to the Lahainaluna.

In many of the mission schools the focus was educating the head, heart and hand. In addition to the rigorous academic drills (Head), the schools provided religious/moral (Heart) and manual/vocational (Hand) training.

This method of learning started with the training of the missionary ministers. While they had extensive training in academics and religious studies, because missionaries were often in isolated locations without services, the early missionary ministers had training in manual arts, as well – this philosophy continued into the schools the missions formed.

Foreign Mission School

The object of the Foreign Mission School was the education, in the US country, of heathen youth (those that do not know God), so that they might be qualified to become useful missionaries, physicians, surgeons, schoolmasters or interpreters, and to communicate such knowledge in agriculture and the arts, as might prove the means of promoting Christianity and civilization. (ABCFM)

Once enrolled, students spent seven hours a day in study. Students studied penmanship, grammar, arithmetic, Latin, Greek, rhetoric, navigation, surveying, astronomy, theology, chemistry, and ecclesiastical history, among other specialized subjects.

Academics were balanced with mandatory outdoor labor. Students were tasked with the maintenance of the school’s agricultural plots and assigned to labor in the fields “two (and a half) days” a week and “two at a time.” Additionally, the school enforced strict rules for students’ social lives and study times.

They were also taught special skills like coopering (the making of barrels and other storage casks), blacksmithing, navigation and surveying. When not in class, students attended mandatory church and prayer sessions and also worked on making improvements to the school’s lands. (Cornwall)

Lahainaluna

Under the leadership of Reverend Lorrin Andrews, Lahainaluna was established by the American Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions “to instruct young men of piety and promising talents”. It is the oldest high school west of the Mississippi River.

The Mission then established “feeder schools” that would transmit to their students’ fundamental reading, writing, and arithmetic skills, and religious training, before admission to the Lahainaluna.

Hilo Boarding School

In 1835, the mission constructed the Hilo Boarding School as part of an overall system of schools (with a girls boarding school in Wailuku and boarding at Lahainaluna.) The school was operated to an extent on a manual labor program and the boys cultivated the land to produce their own food. (The boys’ ages ranged from seven to fourteen.)

More than one-third of the boys who had attended the school eventually became teachers in the common schools of the kingdom. In 1850 the Minister of Public Instruction, Richard Armstrong, reported that Hilo Boarding School “is one of our most important schools. It is the very life and soul of our common school on that large island.”

O‘ahu College – Punahou School

“The founding of Punahou as a school for missionary children not only provided means of instruction for the children of the Mission, but also gave a trend to the education and history of the Islands.” (Report of the Superintendent of Public Education, 1900)

The school was officially named in 1859 and it was initially called the Oʻahu College. It is not until 1934 that the school name was changed to Punahou School, the name we know it as today.

The curriculum at Punahou under Daniel Dole combined the elements of a classical education with a strong emphasis on manual labor in the school’s fields for the boys, and in domestic matters for the girls. The school raised much of its own food. (Burlin)

Kamehameha Schools

The head, heart and hand education continued. On April 1, 1886, Reverend William Brewster Oleson was hired from Hilo Boarding School to become the first principal of the Kamehameha School for Boys.

At Kamehameha, “Each student will be allowed to carry out 12 hours a week of manual labor. For industrial arts, two hours a day, and five days a week. Military drilling and physical education will be a portion of the curriculum everyday.”

“Arithmetic, English Language, Popular Science (Akeakamai,) Elementary Algebra (Anahonua,) Free-hand and Mechanical Drawing (Kakau me Kaha Kii,) Practical Geometry (Moleanahonua,) Bookkeeping (malama Buke Kalepa,) tailoring (tela humu lole,) printing (pai palapala,), masonry (hamo puna,) and other similar things, and blacksmithing.” (Kuokoa, June 28, 1887)

Missionary ‘Head, Heart & Hand’ Model Makes it Back to the Continent

Hilo Boarding School was the model for educating students at Hampton Institute in Virginia and Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. (KSBE)

With the help of the American Missionary Association, Samuel Armstrong, son of missionary Richard Armstrong, established the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute – now known as Hampton University – in Hampton, Virginia in 1868.

The Institute was meant to be a place where black students could receive post-secondary education to become teachers, as well as training in useful job skills while paying for their education through manual labor.

Hampton University’s most notable alumni is Booker T. Washington. “I was born a slave on a plantation in Franklin County, Virginia. … As nearly as I have been able to learn, I was born near a cross-roads post-office called Hale’s Ford, and the year was 1858 or 1859.”

After coming to Hampton Institute in 1872, Washington immediately began to adopt Armstrong’s teaching and philosophy. Washington described Armstrong as “the most perfect specimen of man, physically, mentally and spiritually the most Christ-like….” Washington also quickly learned the aim of the Hampton Institute.

Washington rose to become one of the most influential African-American intellectuals of the late 19th century. In 1881, he founded the Tuskegee Institute, a black school in Alabama devoted to training teachers.

Click HERE for more information on Head, Heart & Hand.

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Hilo_Boarding_School_Shop,_Class_of_June_1901
Hilo_Boarding_School_Shop,_Class_of_June_1901
Hilo_Boarding_School-printing-(75-years)
Hilo_Boarding_School-printing-(75-years)
Hilo_Boarding_School-shop-(75-years)
Hilo_Boarding_School-shop-(75-years)
Hilo_Boarding_School_Shop,_Class_of_June_1901-400
Hilo Boarding School and Mission Houses
Hilo Boarding School and Mission Houses
Hilo_Boarding_School_and_Gardens-from_Haili_Hill-Lothian-1856
Hilo_Boarding_School-(75-years)
Hilo_Boarding_School-(75-years)
Hilo_Boarding_School-garden-(75-years)
Hilo_Boarding_School-garden-(75-years)
Cornwall-home_of_the_Foreign_Mission_School-by_Barber-(WC)-1835
Cornwall-home_of_the_Foreign_Mission_School-by_Barber-(WC)-1835
Cornwall’s Foreign Mission School
Cornwall’s Foreign Mission School
Punahou-Gardens-1880
Punahou-Gardens-1880
Punahou-Girls-Court-of-the-E-Building-1877
Punahou-Girls-Court-of-the-E-Building-1877
Punahou School, Photograph attributed to Charles Burgess-1866-E bldg to left-Old School Hall right
Punahou School, Photograph attributed to Charles Burgess-1866-E bldg to left-Old School Hall right
Punahou-Manual-Arts-Class-1924
Punahou-Manual-Arts-Class-1924
Punahou-Gardens-1880
Punahou-Gardens-1880
Kamehameha School for Boys campus-(KSBE)-before 1900
Kamehameha School for Boys campus-(KSBE)-before 1900

Filed Under: Missionaries / Churches / Religious Buildings, Schools Tagged With: Kamehameha Schools, Missionaries, Punahou, Hampton Normal and Agricultural School, Lahainaluna, Hilo Boarding School, Foreign Mission School, Schools, Head, Heart, Hawaii, Hand

April 10, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Whaling

The war for independence against the British on the American continent (1775-1783) closed the colonial trade routes within the British empire.

The merchantmen and whalers of New England swarmed around South America’s Cape Horn, in search of new markets and sources of supply. A market was established in China.

China took nothing that the US produced; hence Boston traders, in order to obtain the wherewithal to purchase teas and silks at Canton, spent 18-months or more of each China voyage collecting a cargo of sea-otter and other skins out of the northwest side of the American continent, highly esteemed by the Chinese.

Years before the westward land movement gathered momentum, the energies of seafaring New Englanders found their natural outlet, along their traditional pathway, in the Pacific Ocean.

Practically every vessel that visited the North Pacific in the closing years of the 18th century stopped at Hawai‘i for provisions and recreation; then, the opening years of the 19th century saw the sandalwood business became a recognized branch of trade.

Sandalwood, geography and fresh provisions made the Islands a vital link in a closely articulated trade route between Boston, the Northwest Coast and Canton, China.

The central location of the Hawaiian Islands between America and Orient brought many ships to the Islands. They needed food and water, and the islands supplied this need from its fertile lands.

Hawai‘i’s whaling era began in 1819 when two New England ships became the first whaling ships to arrive in the Hawaiian Islands.

At that time, whale products were in high demand; whale oil was used for heating, lamps and in industrial machinery; whale bone was used in corsets, skirt hoops, umbrellas and buggy whips.

Rich whaling waters were discovered near Japan and soon hundreds of ships headed for the area.

Whalers’ aversion to the traditional Hawaiian diet of fish and poi spurred new trends in farming and ranching. The sailors wanted fresh vegetables and the native Hawaiians turned the temperate uplands into vast truck farms.

There was a demand for fresh fruit, cattle, white potatoes and sugar. Hawaiians began growing a wider variety of crops to supply the ships.

In Hawaiʻi, several hundred whaling ships might call in season, each with 20 to 30 men aboard and each desiring to resupply with enough food for another tour “on Japan,” “on the Northwest,” or into the Arctic.

The whaling industry was the mainstay of the island economy for about 40 years. For Hawaiian ports, the whaling fleet was the crux of the economy. More than 100 ships stopped in Hawaiian ports in 1824.

“At present the whale ships visit the Sandwich Islands in the months of March and April and then proceed to the coast of Japan, the return again in October and November remain here about six weeks, and then proceed in different directions …”

“… some to the Coast of California, others cruise about the Equator when they return thither again in March and April and proceed a second time to the Coast of Japan; it usually occupies two seasons on that coast to fill a ship that will carry Three Hundred Tons.” (Jones report to Henry Clay, Secretary of State, 1827)

“The number of hands generally comprising the Company of a whale ship will average Twenty Five; and owing to the want of discipline, the length and the ardourous duties of the voyage, these people generally become dissatisfied and are willing at any moment to join a rebellion or desert the first opportu(nity) that may offer …”

“… this has been fully exemplified in the whale ships that have visited these islands, constant disertions have taken place and many serious mutinies both contributing to protract and frequently ruin the voyage.” (Jones report to Henry Clay, Secretary of State, 1827)

The effect on Hawaiʻi’s economy, particularly in areas in reach of Honolulu, Lāhainā and Hilo, the main whaling ports, was dramatic and of considerable importance in the islands’ history.

Over the next two decades, the Pacific whaling fleet nearly quadrupled in size and in the record year of 1846, 736-whaling ships arrived in Hawai‘i.

Then, whaling came swiftly to an end.

In 1859, an oil well was discovered and developed in Titusville, Pennsylvania; within a few years this new type of oil replaced whale oil for lamps and many other uses – spelling the end of the whaling industry.

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Port-of-Lahaina-Maui-1848
Port-of-Lahaina-Maui-1848
Lahaina as seen from Lahainaluna-(portion_Lahainaluna_engraving)-1838
Lahaina as seen from Lahainaluna-(portion_Lahainaluna_engraving)-1838
Koloa_Landing-Kauai-(KauaiMuseumCollection)
Koloa_Landing-Kauai-(KauaiMuseumCollection)
Rotch fleet in the midst of a school of sperm whales off the coast of Hawaii-LOC-1833
Rotch fleet in the midst of a school of sperm whales off the coast of Hawaii-LOC-1833
Whaling-Honolulu_Harbor-1850s
Whaling-Honolulu_Harbor-1850s
A view of whale fishery, from A Collection of Voyages round the World...Captain Cook’s First, Second, Third and Last Voyages, 1790 (NOAA)
A view of whale fishery, from A Collection of Voyages round the World…Captain Cook’s First, Second, Third and Last Voyages, 1790 (NOAA)
Cutting up the 'junk' - central section of the head of sperm whales
Cutting up the ‘junk’ – central section of the head of sperm whales
head oil from sperm whales could be bailed directly into casks
head oil from sperm whales could be bailed directly into casks
Hoisting the blanket strip
Hoisting the blanket strip
Trying the horse pieces - the minced 'horse piece' to the 'try-pot'
Trying the horse pieces – the minced ‘horse piece’ to the ‘try-pot’
'The wharf-gauging oil', by David H. Strother, a New Bedford whaling wharf covered with casks of whale oil. (Harper's New Monthly Magazine, June 1860)
‘The wharf-gauging oil’, by David H. Strother, a New Bedford whaling wharf covered with casks of whale oil. (Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, June 1860)
Stripping the ivory for scrimshaw
Stripping the ivory for scrimshaw
Drake_Well-Park-sign
Drake_Well-Park-sign
EarlyOilField-Titusville-WC
EarlyOilField-Titusville-WC

Filed Under: Economy, Sailing, Shipping & Shipwrecks Tagged With: Whaling, Lahainaluna, Economy, Hawaiian Economy, Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, Lahaina, Hawaii

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Images of Old Hawaiʻi

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